Menu Planning

Eating a wide variety of foods is the best way to ensure nutritional adequacy and good health. So often parents and providers tell us “Well, I only serve peanut butter sandwiches (or pizza or chicken nuggets) because that’s all the kids like and will eat.” When we become concerned about preparing a meal of favorite foods, sometimes we lose sight of the importance of introducing young children to the delightful variety of foods that are important for a well balanced diet.

Taking a little time to plan your menus each week not only saves time, money and frustration at mealtimes, it also helps increase variety in your menus. Here are some tips to make the process easier:

Gather all your tools – paper, pencils, cookbooks/recipes, etc.

Check the ingredients you have on hand.

Decide how far in advance you want to plan – one week, two weeks, one month.

Think about how you want to plan – one day at a time, or all breakfasts, then lunches, then snacks.

Consider the amount of time between snacks and meals. For example, if afternoon snack is a long time after lunch or you are feeding hungry children after school, you may want to have more food available.